Sept. 9, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. -
Senior Lauren West took a few weeks off from preparing for the 2009 soccer season to study abroad and take in a new culture during the summer. West, a business major, took one class offered through the International Business program at Fresno State.
"A representative from the program gave a presentation on the London program, which got me interested in it," said West. "But the main selling point was hearing about Moses Harris' experiences from Hong Kong the summer before. He really convinced me that study abroad would be an amazing experience."
West, along with 68 other kids took classes in Fresno for three weeks before jet setting across the Atlantic Ocean for two weeks of classes in London at Regents Business College.
"I was in London for a full two weeks and then in Paris for another five days," said West. "The whole excursion was three weeks. I took one class towards my major, but some people like Gavin (Hedstrom, from the Bulldog baseball team) took two classes."
Each day the Bulldog forward spent time in the classroom learning. Some days were lecture type classes and others were a panel style class setting, where professors and community members shared their business experiences.
"It was cool to hear from the English how the cultural is different and in international business when you go overseas for your business you have to adapt to the culture," said West. "You can't just go in thinking your way is the right way and that if it works in the U.S. it will work everywhere. You have to be able to make adjustments and adapt new ideas."
West was able to take in the sights and new culture when her time in the classroom was finished.
"Outside of school, we were able to take field trips as a group," said West. "We went to Oxford, which is about an hour away, but takes two hours with traffic. It is one of the oldest universities and there are a lot of small colleges that make up the university. Harry Potter was filmed there, so it was really fun to see."
On the side, West and her friends visited places like Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the London Eye and the London Bridge.
"One day we went to Madam Tussauds Wax Museum," explained West. "We saw people like, David Beckham, Pele, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and President Obama."
The senior visited Lester Square, which she described as similar to Times Square in New York with the neon lights, restaurants, street vendors and all kinds of street performers.
"There was so much to take in where we were and I wanted a picture of everything," said West. "Easily, around 800 pictures were taken in the two weeks I was there. "
West said her favorite part of the trip was visiting the British Museum.
"It was cool to see all the British history," said West. "They have the Rosetta Stone and all of these artifacts from Rome and Greece. It is really amazing to see because you learn about it in books, but it puts it in a different prospective to see things you learn about in class right in front of you."
The students from Fresno State met students from Marymount College in Los Angeles and Spain.
"It was interesting to hang out with people from all over," recalls West. "We were from all over the world and came to London for this experience."
West says that her experiences as a student-athlete helped make her trip such a success.
"As a student-athlete we are used to managing our time wisely with playing a sport, so that carried over to studying abroad because you have school to take care of and all the sights to see," West said.
The 2009 captain said, she would advise her teammates or any student-athlete to travel abroad.
"After my time studying abroad I am a big advocate and think that everyone should go overseas," said West. "It is hard to experience trips like this when you are a student-athlete because we don't have as much time, but if you can get the chance to go overseas, do it."
"We Are Your Team" - The Bulldogs host Cal State Bakersfield in the Valley Cup Sunday, September 13th at 6pm in Bulldog Stadium. September is Youth Soccer Month and all youth 8th grade and under will receive FREE admission when wearing their youth soccer jersey to the game. For ticket deals and information visit GoBulldogs.com, call or stop by the Bulldogs Ticket Office (559-278-DOGS).
